Cavegirls Battle Wildcats in District Opener

By Don Eskins

The Cavegirls basketball team, still on a slide, dropped their fourth game in a row to the Lovington Wildcats in Carlsbad on Tuesday night, January 20.

Despite a 13-point effort from senior guard Serena Carrasco, CHS fell to the Cats 42-34.

The loss left Carlsbad’s girls sitting at 8-11. The Cavegirls were scheduled to take on the 6-9 Santa Teresa Desert Warriors on the road on Thursday, January 22. It would serve as their final pre-district game of the 2025-26 season. (Results of that game will be posted in the January 30 edition of the Local)

Cavegirls Set for District 4/5A Run

Often called the second season, the Cavegirls couldn’t be happier about entering conference play. Struggling to score points throughout most of the year, it will put them on equal footing with other conference teams, 0-0, as the race for the District 4/5A crown gets set to tip off.

In their conference opener, the Cavegirls will take on the Clovis Wildcats, 7-11, in Clovis on Tuesday, January 27. The JVs will take the floor first at 4 p.m., followed by the varsity at 5:30 p.m.

“We’re all excited about entering district play,” said Cavegirl head coach Matt Enloe. “We’ll probably be tabbed as the conference underdog this year because of the way we’ve been playing as of late, but we feel we have a great opportunity to be relevant in district play.

“Hobbs, ranked first in Class 5A basketball, is obviously the favorite to grab this year’s District 4/5A title,” said Enloe. “But we feel like we can compete, especially with Roswell and Clovis.”

Despite the current slump they’ve been in, Enloe says his girls are just a few shots away from turning their season around.

“I’ve been around these girls long enough to know what they can do,” he said. “We can be a really good team again; we just have to get the ball to fall in a few more times for us. If we can do that, we’ll be okay.”

Through January 21, the top-ranked Hobbs Eagles were 17-2; Roswell, ranked 18th, was 8-11; Clovis, ranked 16th, was 7-11; and Carlsbad, ranked 20th, was 8-11.

Cavegirl Roundup

On January 16, the Cavegirls dropped a 48-24 contest to the Mayfield Trojans. Serenity Medrano led CHS’s effort with 10 points and six rebounds.

On January 17, the Las Cruces Bulldawgs downed the Cavegirls 46-31. Tops on the scoresheet for CHS were Mia Payanes and Serenity Medrano, each with eight points.

On Tuesday, January. 20, the Cavegirls fell to the Lovington Wildcats 40-34. Leading Carlsbad offensively was Serena Carrasco with 13 points.

Cavegirl Game Recaps:

CHS vs. Lovington- Jan.20

LHS 10 8 6 18 42

CHS 5 11 6 12 34

Leaders: Scoring:-Serena Carrasco, 13; Serenity Medrano, 8; Hayden Brose, 5; Bella Marquez, 3; Faith Kluesner, 3; Juliette Licon, 2; Rebounds: S. Carrasco, 6; S. Medrano, 5; Kendra Ortega, 5; Isabella Marquez, 4; H. Brose, 3; Libby Tyndorf, 3; J. Licon, 2; Assists: H. Brose, 4; S. Carrasco, 3; J. Licon, 2; S. Medrano, 2; Steals: H. Brose, 2; S. Carrasco, 2; K. Ortega, 1; 2-pt. FGs: 4-18-22.2%; 3-pt. FGs: 7-36-19.4%; FTs: 5-11-45.5%. (CHS-Hudl Digital Stats)-

CHS vs. Las Cruces- Jan. 17

LCHS 16 13 10 7 46

CHS 2 5 15 9 31

Leaders: Scoring: Serenity Medrano, 8; Mia Payanes, 8; Serena Carrasco, 6; Libby Tyndorf, 4; Kendra Ortega, 3; Rebounds: S. Medrano, 10; Juliette Licon, 4; Valerie Veloz, 3; Bella Marquez, 2; S. Carrasco, 2; Assists: S. Carrasco, 4; Isabella Marquez, 2; Steals: J. Licon, 2; Blocks: S. Medrano, 1; 2-pt. FGs: 7-14-50%; 3-pt. FGs: 5-25-20%; FTs: 2-4-50%. (CHS-Hudl Digital Stats)

CHS vs. Mayfield- Jan. 16

MHS 13 12 20 3 48

CHS 3 11 8 2 24

Leaders: Scoring: Serenity Medrano, 10; Jayla Bragg, 5; Serena Carrasco, 4; Juliette Licon, 3; Libby Tyndorf, 2; Rebounds: S. Medrano, 6; Faith Kluesner, 2; Isabella Marquez, 2; S. Carrasco, 2; Assists: I. Marquez, 4; J. Bragg, 1; S. Carrasco, 1; K. Ortega. 1; Steals: K. Ortega, 1; 2-pt. FGs: 7-16-43.8%; 3-pt. FGs: 3-14-21.4%; FTs: 1-4-25%. (CHS-Hudl Digital Stats)